A Discrepancy in the Timeline
by werewolf36
Summary: After a different series of events in the Tower of Heaven, Jellal ends up joining Fairy Tail instead of Erza. What does this cause, and how much more danger is the world in now that this has happened? How much could truly be affected by two people simply swapping roles? As tensions rise and guilds clash, only time may tell whether this is for the best, or for the worse.


**Author's Note: Hey guys, great to see that you've all decided to come and read this. Now, this is going to be a remake of a project I started and abandoned early because I didn't like how it turned out. This time, I'm hoping that it'll turn out better and gain a semi-respectable following. Anyway, on with the story!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail. It belongs to Hiro Mashima.**

* * *

The city of Magnolia was an old and lively merchant city in the land of Fiore. With warm and welcoming citizens, a long and prosperous history with magic, and beautiful scenery, many would consider it the perfect place to live a calm life.

At least until they meet Fairy Tail, the city's Wizarding Guild. If one were to wander by the guildhall and hear fighting, they would be told that's a common occurrence and to get used to it if they plan to stay. Today however, if one to take a closer look inside the guild, they would find that things were more... hectic, than usual for the guild.

Something Makarov, the Master of the guild, was realizing quickly as the day went on. Within the last few months, they'd experienced a small surge in their numbers. Children with strong magical potential had come to the guild with little time in between one another and had asked to join. First had been a boy named Gray who used Maker magic, then a group of siblings that used Take Over magic, and then Natsu who used Dragon Slayer magic. Each of them were powerful and skilled with their magic, and Makarov knew that each of them would be destined for greatness when they grew up.

Of course, that did nothing to assuage the feeling of anxiety whenever they would get into fights. Natsu and Gray were the most constant source of fighting, and seemed to be the exact opposite of one another. The two would fight on almost a daily basis with one another, and destroy a good portion of the guild hall in the process. He let them fight because he knew that by doing so they'd push one another and get stronger, but it was quickly becoming expensive.

The siblings weren't much better. Or rather, the oldest wasn't. The younger two, Lisanne and Elfman, were kind and gentle children. Mira, however, was much more aggressive, and would constantly goad the two into fighting, or occasionally join in and cause more damage than either of them ever did on their own. He could only hope that they would learn not to do that much damage to the guild when they were older. Makarov sighed as he imagined how much damage they'd cause when they grew older if they didn't change.

Which, since much of the guild had been destroyed at this point and many of the others had been drawn into the fighting, only caused him to groan and move towards the exits for some fresh air. He could only hope things would have calmed down when he came back.

As he wandered the town, Makarov couldn't help but feel that something important was about to happen. Before he could think any more on it, he heard a commotion ahead of him and he quickened his pace to see what it was.

What he found was a somewhat familiar angry man surrounded by a crowd of onlookers as he shouted down an empty street. Walking up behind the man, he attempted to find out what caused the man this anger.

"What's the matter?"

"Some kid just took a book from my shop without paying for it! As soon as I find that little brat-" Makarov cut the man off. Now he remembered who this man was. He charged ludicrous prices for his wares that no sane person would ever willingly pay.

"Which way did he go?" The man pointed down the street he was yelling at.

"That way. Boy was almost completely out of sight before I could even get past my door."

Makarov sighed. "Stay here. I'll find the boy and get you your book back."

Content with this, the man calmed down and went back inside the shop as the crowd dispersed. With a sigh, Makarov started walking in the direction the boy went. He didn't know if he'd be able to even find this boy, but he couldn't shake the feeling that he had to for some reason. Something about what the merchant had told him made him suspect this boy could use magic.

If not for the fact that he was capable of escaping sight faster than the man could react, then the fact that he would go to the trouble of stealing a book from a merchant who sold exclusively magical items. When he asked the people on the street at the time, they'd told him that all they'd heard was shouting and then saw something bright racing past them.

With a nod of his head at this information, he could safely say that whoever this boy was, he was a wizard.

With his curiosity piqued, he searched with more effort than before for this boy. He needed to find out exactly why he would steal the book and, if his answer was what suspected it would be, if he would show an interest in joining his guild.

Nearly an hour went by before he found the boy. Makarov found him sitting on a bench in the park, a large book open in his lap and a small bag at his side. As he approached him slowly to get a closer look, he could immediately tell this boy wasn't from around here.

The boy was slightly taller than him and appeared no older than eleven. He wore a simple white T-shirt covered by a dark blue coat that seemed a little too big for him with a pair of black pants and sneakers. His eyes were a dark brown color and seemed to hold a knowledge and intelligence usually held by those decades his elder. His hair was a mop of blue that seemed to extend just past his ears. The most intriguing thing about him though, was the tattoo around his right eye. It was a dark red color that seemed to glow in the light the longer he looked at it.

All in all, the boy was an oddity to Makarov, which was saying something considering he was the Master of Fairy Tail.

"Do you need something, Mr.?" Makarov blinked and saw that the boy had wrestled his attention from his book and now had his full attention on Makarov. Apparently, he'd been caught staring, and he let out a little chuckle at that.

"Yes actually, I'm looking for a thief. Do you think you could help me?" He saw the boy tense up for a moment, before relaxing and smiling at him. The boy closed the book and set it aside for the moment.

"Sure. What did he look like?"

"About my height, blue hair and dark brown eyes, but you'd likely recognize him from the red tattoo he has surrounding his right eye." The boy seemed to grow more tense and anxious as Makarov described him, and he could sense the boy drawing forth his magic. It was subtle, to the point that unless one was an experienced wizard, they would have missed it.

With as calming a smile as he could muster, he slowly approached the bench the boy previously sat on a took a seat. Picking up the book, he read the title aloud.

"' _The Effects of Forbidden Magic on the Mind'_?" Makarov blinked and looked toward the still tense boy. This was an advanced and complicated book, one that he knew many mages wouldn't bother to read. "Now why would you be reading something like this?"

The boy hesitated. "It's personal."

Makarov nodded and set the book aside. He would respect the boy's privacy. He wasn't here for that anyway. "What's your name?"

The boy blinked and seemed to relax somewhat. "My name?"

Makarov nodded. "Yes, what's your name? I'm Makarov Dreyar."

"My name's Jellal. Jellal Fernandes." The boy cautiously approached the bench and sat down next to Makarov.

"It's nice to meet you, Jellal." He nodded at him with a gentle smile. "So, why'd you steal this book?" He could see the boy sigh and look down at the ground out of the corner of his eye.

"I didn't have enough money for it, but I needed it and he wouldn't let me even look at it until I paid for it."

"Well, normally you're supposed to pay for what you want, not steal them when you don't have enough money." He could see Jellal tense up beside him again. He grinned a bit and turned to him. "But, seeing as how that man charges extortionate prices for what he's selling, I can't entirely blame you."

Jellal relaxed at that and let out a sigh. "Did you come here to take back the book?"

Makarov shook his head. "Actually, I came here for you." Jellal blinked and tilted his head at him.

"Why me?"

"Be honest with me now, Jellal, are you a wizard?" The question seemed to catch the boy off guard for a moment, before he composed himself and nodded.

"Yeah, I am. Are you one too?" Makarov let out a hearty laugh at that and stuck his hand out for a handshake.

"Actually, I'm the Master of a guild here in Magnolia, Fairy Tail. We're-"

Before he could continue, he was cut off. "Fairy tail? I think I've heard that name before... aren't you the ones who destroy something everywhere you?"

Makarov sighed. "Yes, that would be us." He shook his head and the smile returned to his face. "But despite that, I can assure you everyone in Fairy Tail is nice, and we treat each other like family, no matter who we are, where we come from, or what we may done in the past."

He could see he had Jellal interested at that prospect, and that the boy seemed to be thinking hard on something. He could only smirk as he saw Jellal turn toward him. "Could I join?"

"Of course! Anyone with the right heart and spirit can join Fairy Tail! But first I need to ask you a question, if that's alright with you?" With a nod, he was signaled to continue. "Well, I'm curious as to what kind of magic you use? All I was told by the shop keeper and people on the street was that you seemed to shine brightly as you raced past them."

"I don't think it actually has a name, but I can show you." With that he stood up and walked a good distance away from him. He could see Jellal close his eyes and faintly heard him mutter the word 'Meteor'. A mere moment later, Jellal was surrounded in a bright golden light and had launched himself into the air at an impressive speed. He then raced toward the bench Makarov was seated on and made a somewhat elegant landing in front of him as the light dispersed.

"I can also do other things with it, but I'm still learning how to control it properly."

Makarov laughed and stood up from the bench. "Well that was certainly impressive. I don't remember ever seeing something like that before." He picked up that book and handed it to Jellal. "Now, before we go back to the guild hall, we're going to pay that merchant for this book. It wouldn't be good for you to have a bounty on your head if you plan on staying here. Don't worry, I'll lend you the money for it."

With a nod of his head, Jellal picked up his bag and stuffed the book inside it and followed Makarov as he walked out of the park.

* * *

"This is the guild hall?" The curiosity and wonder in the boy's voice was enough to bring a smile to Makarov's face.

"Yes, impressive, isn't it? This is where you'll come every day and meet the rest of your guild mates."

"What's that symbol?" He followed Jellal's gaze up toward the flag on the front of the guild hall.

"That my boy is the symbol of Fairy Tail. Every member has that symbol somewhere on their body to signify they're one of us." Makarov proudly informed the boy. He paused when he saw the boy's face scrunch up in concern.

"I've met someone with that symbol before..." He trailed off as if in thought.

"Fairy Tail is a big guild. I'm sure that whoever you've met is probably inside or out on a job, so you'll get to meet whoever it was you saw again." He turned and began to open the doors, but for the slightest moment he could have sworn he saw an expression of sadness flash across the boy's face. He pushed that thought to the back of his mind and prepared himself for what would likely be a furious battle between the youngest members of Fairy Tail.

Instead, he found the guild to be mostly calm and the members cleaning up the mess they made in their brawl. He could see Jellal blink and look around the guild curiously.

"Ah, Master, you're back!" Macao shouted from the bar. When his gaze fell on Jellal, he gained a questioning look abd turned to Makarov. "Who's this?"

By this point, most of the guild had turned their attention to Makarov and Jellal. With a smile, he pushed Jellal forward. "Everyone, this is Jellal. I expect you to treat him like family and give him a warm welcome, understood?" His response was a chorus of 'Yes, sir's.

He saw Natsu and the other new members approach Jellal. "Hi there, I'm Natsu. It's nice to meet you, Jellal!" He stuck his hand out with a bright smile, which Jellal slowly accepted with a small smile of his own.

"It's nice to meet you Natsu."

"Hey, you wanna fight?" This seemed to catch Jellal off guard and caused him to recoil back in shock.

"What, why would-"

"Yeah, that's a good idea, we should test the newbie!" Gray smirked at Jellal and introduced himself. "I'm Gray, and as you already know, this is Natsu. The three siblings behind us are Mira, Elfman, and Lisanna."

"Hi."

"I-it's nice to meet you."

"Come on, let's just see what this kid can do already!" Came the chorus of replies from the siblings.

"Uh, it's nice to meet you all, but I'd actually like to-" He was cut off as Natsu grabbed his arm and began dragging him outside.

"Come on! I've been aching to fight someone new, and we all wanna see where you stand." Despite his protests, Jellal's words fell on deaf ears as he was dragged outside by the group of promising wizards.

With a small laugh, he walked towards the intact bar and took a seat on the stool.

"So Master, where'd you find the kid?" Macao asked him.

"He stole a book from a merchant and showcased some strange magic as he did it. I followed him to the park, and decided to ask him if he wanted to join us."

Macao stared at the door they group had left through. "Well, do you think he'd fit in here? We can all be a bit of a handful, especially those kids."

Before he could have responded, Natsu was sent flying back into the guild and rolled to a stop in the middle of the floor with a small groan. Soon after, Jellal and the others all rushed in toward him.

"Are you okay? I didn't mean to hit you so hard!" Jellal worriedly asked the groaning boy on the ground. A moment later Natsu was back on his feet, an excited smile on his face and slightly maniacal look in his eye.

"Are you kidding? Now that I know you pack that much of a punch, I'm more fired up than ever!" And with that, they were all rushing back outside again, dragging a bewildered Jellal with him and causing a few of the people in the guild to laugh at the display.

Makarov could only smile and nod his head. "I'm certain he'll fit in just fine here with the rest of us."

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 **Authors Note: And with that, I conclude the first chapter. So, what'd you guys think? Be honest, and if you guys have any tips or ideas, don't hesitate to tell me them. Anyway, as you've seen here, there's been a change that is going to cause some major and minor changes to the timeline. Just what those are and how they react to them is going to be revealed as time goes on. All I can tell you is that if you stick around, thing's are gonna get interesting.**

 **Anyway, see you guys around, and don't forget to Favorite, Follow, and leave a Review.**


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